


How Mother 3 should have ended

by lluviathewolf



Category: Mother 3
Genre: Claus being protective, Claus is awkward with girls or maybe it's just Kumatora, F/M, Family, Gen, How Mother 3 should have ended, Let's fight the Ultimate Chimera!, Lucas being protective, Lucas is done with this, Lucas ships Claus/Kumatora, Porky is going to regret what he did, Spoilers, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 09:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3645909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lluviathewolf/pseuds/lluviathewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucas gets sneaky, Claus gets hit on the head, Kumatora gets confused, and the ultimate chimera tries to bite people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Mother 3 should have ended

Lucas threw himself backwards, almost stumbling as he dodged the other's blow.

This was the hardest battle he'd ever fought- and it wasn't just how strong this person was- wasn't just how fast he was, how skilled he was-

Lucas raised the defense of himself and his friends again.

The other stood with the temple behind him, helmet hiding his face as he turned to stare back at Lucas-

"Lucas! Try PK Love!" Duster yelled, pulling out another bomb.

Lucas hesitated- the other boy sprang at him, swinging his sword- Lucas dodged, just barely, before raising his hands and casting PK Lifeup again.

Lucas hadn't done one single offensive thing this whole battle. This person- he couldn't fight this person-

The other turned to him- eyes almost but not quite meeting, he took a step forward- Duster's bomb impacted with the back of his head, quickly followed by Kumatora's PK Ground-

The other dropped to his knees- lightening crackled over him as he slumped over, unmoving.

The Pigmasks ran away and Lucas stepped forward. Finally, those Pigmask jerks were gone- finally, he'd get to pull off that mask and see the face beneath- be able to do what he'd been longing to do ever since Thunder Tower-

The other boy twitched, and then sprouted wings and started to fly away-

Worry turned to anger so quickly Lucas wasn't aware of what he was doing until the Hummingbird Egg left his hand and impacted on the back of the commander's helmet- he faltered and then dropped, plummeting out of sight behind the cliff edge.

"Oh no!" Lucas shouted, scrambling after him.

"Hey Lucas, wait!" Kumatora and Boney ran after.

Duster stared after them, confused- then it clicked in his brain-

He ran, barely remembering to scoop up the Egg as he passed it. "Lucas, wait!"

OoOoOo

Lucas didn't pause for anything, searching frantically- shiny helmet, black jacket- there!

"Claus!" Lucas yelled, scrambling closer to the figure crumpled on the ground. "Claus, you okay?"

He thought he heard a groan, but he wasn't sure. He yanked off the helmet and threw it aside- mismatched eyes opened- blinked- stared at him in confusion.

There was a scrape- blood and ripped skin on his brother's cheek.

Lucas focused on that- on the thing he knew he'd be able to fix.

"PK Lifeup!"

It healed before his eyes- a small smile slipped onto his lips.

Claus looked down- reached up to touch his cheek. "You healed me."

"Yeah. Are you hurt anywhere else? Does your head hurt?" Lucas reached forward and carefully felt his brother's head- his mismatched eyes followed his movements. One eye the same as ever, bright green, like a forest full of sunlight- and then one eye red as blood.

Lucas almost shuddered, stopping himself just in time.

Claus shifted, following Lucas with his eyes still- sunlight reflected off the cannon arm, hitting Lucas's eyes-

Lucas remembered Bronson standing in front of their dad, the fire casting shadows all around them.

"I've got good news and bad news-"

Kinda applied to the situation now. But the good news was that Claus was alive.

Finished with his search for wounds that had survived his first healing and finding none, Lucas sat back a little bit.

Claus watched him, silently.

"How do you feel? Does your head hurt?"

After a moment, Claus nodded.

"Does it hurt all over?" another nod. "Okay, it's probably just a headache then, and not anything to worry about…can you get up? Do you need help?"

Claus shook his head- started pushing himself up- stumbled- Lucas quickly grabbed him and kept him from falling- and even when Claus regained his footing, Lucas didn't let go.

He clung to his big brother, trying not to cry and not getting very far.

OoOoOo

The boy kept crying-

His head was killing him- he couldn't think.

His shoulder was wet. The boy kept crying-

Slowly, he reached out one hand- touched him- just lightly, on the cheek.

The boy paused- looked up at him- big blue eyes, full of tears- looking at the boy- it hurt, somehow, but he couldn't look away either. The boy looked…different somehow. Brighter. The glint of sunlight off metal told him part of the reason why. His helmet was gone.

The boy…he'd healed him…that was not the action of an enemy. But they'd been fighting before, hadn't they? His head hurt- his memories were jumbled- but the boy had healed him, and now he was holding him and crying- the boy was not an enemy.

"Are you injured?" was that why he was crying?

The boy shook his head- he was smiling slightly- why? "I'm okay."

"Your cheek."

"Huh?" he touched it, and then winced. "Ow, you're right. Okay then- PK Lifeup Omega."

The sensation he'd felt before flooded him- he shut his eyes- feelings of warmth, like the sun- like the wind- like a touch from gentle hands-

He opened his eyes to see the other's cheek healed and he was smiling at him.

"Do you feel better now Claus?"

"Yes Lucas." he realized what he'd said and blinked.

Before he could really think it over, arms were flung around him.

"You remembered!" Lucas cried, hugging him, "you remembered me!"

With the force of momentum swaying them, Claus wrapped his arms around him, trying to keep the both of them from falling- but he didn't let go, even when their balance stabilized-

"We were so worried about you-" Lucas said softly, "we were so scared- people kept telling us to give up- but Dad and Grandpa and Boney and me- we knew you were alive. And here you are- it's been three years, but we're finally together again."

What was he talking about? Claus wasn't really sure- but Lucas was happy to see him- for some reason, Lucas had been worried about him. He understood that much of what he had said. And other people had been worrying about him too. Why?

Claus was confused. But the names- they did sound familiar. They floated just out of reach in his head, but they were in there.

Claus was confused, and he didn't understand- but the sun was warm- Lucas was warmer- Lucas was holding him and not letting go- Lucas wanted to stay with him- Lucas wanted to be with him-

Claus relaxed.

His head still hurt- how had they gotten here? What was going on?- but not as much now.

The two of them stood there- warmed by the sun-warmed by each other  
.  
Lucas was warm- Lucas had healed him- Lucas thought he was important- Lucas called him by his name- Claus-

Ah- but Master Porky had told him to pull the needle- so he should go pull it. Then he'd need to go pull the last needle. But they didn't know where the final one was- so he could go pull the needle in the temple, and then come back to Lucas, and then-

What would he do then?

Claus shifted, looking up- at where he'd fallen from-

Lucas shifted too, so that he could see him better. "Claus? Are you okay?"

Claus looked from the temple where the needle was hidden to Lucas. "I've been ordered to pull the needles."

"Oh." Lucas said, looking sad- and then looking thoughtful. "You can't get into it though, right? I can get it open- but then we have to pull it together, okay?"

Pull it together? Oh, right…Lucas had- he had pulled some of the needles, hadn't he? Because some of the needles were gone, and Claus hadn't pulled them…Lucas had pulled some of the needles- Lucas wanted to pull this needle?

"You were ordered to pull the needles?" Claus asked.

Lucas shook his head. "The Magyspsies- the people who were guarding the needles- they asked me to pull them- because they wanted to make sure the world wouldn't be destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"Yeah- 'cause the dragon the needles are keeping asleep is supposed to inherit the heart of whoever pulled the needles. And when the Magyspsies tried to find out about your heart, they couldn't, so they were worried and asked me to pull the needles. So I told them I would." Lucas looked at the temple then back at Claus. "Are you okay? Do you need to be healed again?"

"I can continue with the mission."

Lucas didn't look relieved- he looked worried. "I don't care about that Claus. If you're hurt, I wanna help you. You're my brother- if there's something I can do for you, I wanna do it."

Claus blinked.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Lucas asked again.

Claus's hands crept up to his head-

He paused, but Lucas smiled and raised his hands, gently put one hand on each side of Claus's head and touched their foreheads together.

If Claus's head would stop pounding, maybe he could think- maybe he could understand what to do.

"PK-" Lucas started-

A growl- a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye- something pink-

Claus shoved Lucas out of the way, sending him flying- the ultimate chimera sprang out of the bushes.

Knowing it wouldn't hurt it, but hoping to capture its attention, Claus threw PK Thunder at it.

It growled at him, not even stumbling, and Claus tossed another PK Thunder before moving to the cliff.

Lucas called to him, but the chimera was coming, and Claus had to get it away from Lucas, because Claus was the strong one, the Commander, and Lucas was the sensitive one, the younger one, and Claus had to protect him.

Claus activated his wings.

He shot up the cliff face, turning to shoot with his cannon arm and then used PK Thunder again, making sure he still had its attention.

Lucas, still on the ground, shot the climbing chimera with the strongest attack- the one that both of them had.

The chimera turned to snap at him, but Claus hit it with the same attack and it turned back to him and leaped higher up the cliff.

Claus zipped higher up, noticing that PK Love seemed to actually affect it- he fired off a couple of cannon shots.

Lucas flung another PK Love- even as it was impacting, Claus matched him and threw another one, determined to keep the chimera's attention- he was the strong one, the older one- it was his job to protect Lucas.

The chimera stumbled slightly before snarling and springing up the cliff face.

"Claus!" Lucas shouted. He sounded scared. He didn't need to be scared. Claus would protect him. Claus would definitely protect him.

"Lucas, go hide!"

"No! I'm not going to leave you!"

The chimera pulled itself over the edge of the cliff, growling.

Claus shot it point-blank in the face, frowning as it clung to the edge but suffered no damage.

At the bottom of the cliff, rocks rattled as they hit each other and hit the ground. Claus knew that Lucas had begun to climb the cliff to try to help.

The chimera flung itself at Claus and Claus retreated, throwing PK attacks and shooting it as he went.

The chimera followed.

Claus had to take care of the chimera. It was a danger- it was a threat to people- to the soldiers and to Lucas.

Claus wouldn't let this thing hurt anyone.

He had to defeat it.

How? His attacks weren't doing much damage. Most of the attacks weren't going any damage at all- PK Love did some, but-

Claus began running through the battle with the chimera in his head as he dodged-

…cliffs. There were a lot of cliffs around.

Claus could lure it to a cliff edge- then throw PK Love after PK Love at it until it fell- and then he'd throw more until it hit the ground.

He was using the wings a lot today.

Claus continued speeding along- looking for a cliff to use to take care of the chimera.

A flash of pink- brighter than the chimera- it caught his eyes and he slowed, then threw himself to the side to avoid the chimera.

It was the girl- the one who had been with Lucas before.

She was glaring at him, but she was looking at the chimera too- wary, but not afraid. Then she looked back at him. "Hey you! Where's Lucas?"

Claus hesitated.

Who was this girl? She'd been with Lucas before- she was asking about Lucas now- but she and the others had been causing problems- been making trouble- interfering with Master Porky's plan-

The chimera stepped forward.

"PK Ground!"

Claus tensed but the attack slammed into the chimera.

The girl lowered her hand- only slightly- and looked at Claus again. "Where's Lucas?"

"…Lucas is safe." Claus answered evasively.

He knew he had to take care of the chimera- he didn't know what to do with the girl.

She'd been a troublemaker- she was after Lucas- Claus would definitely protect Lucas.

But earlier- she and Lucas had been working together-

The chimera charged.

"PK Love!"

"PK Ground!"

"We need to get rid of the chimera. I will lure it to a cliff-" Claus said quickly as it started to shake itself off. "Then knock it off. That should be enough to defeat it."

"I've heard worse plans," the girl said, voice reluctant, as she threw a PK Fire at it. "That thing'll make searching for my friends difficult so I'll give you a hand. There's a cliff- a nice big one back behind me. Let's get him to follow us."

"Understood."

"PK Thunder!"

"PK Thunder!"

The chimera growled and leaped at them, and both Claus and the girl ducked back into the forest. The girl didn't have the wings like he did, so he made sure not to get ahead of her- she was a troublemaker, but she'd been with Lucas- and now she was assisting him with getting rid of the chimera- because of that, he'd protect her too.

"The cliff's right here!" she shouted over her shoulder.

"I'll wait on the edge and lure it to me- go hide in the woods."

The girl glared. "Don't think you can tell me what to do!"

"But I have wings and you don't," Claus pointed out- and felt a little bit of satisfaction at the face she made, knowing he'd won that argument.

"Alright, but you'd better not follow that thing down! Don't you dare try to leave me behind!" she vanished into the woods, and Claus went to the edge and stood in front of it- for some reason he looked after the girl- then the Ultimate Chimera reappeared out of the woods.

"PK Love!"

It didn't like that- but it didn't like the edge either. It growled at him, but didn't come any closer- just stood there.

Claus frowned. "PK Love!" He tried again.

The thing snarled but stayed where it was.

Claus hesitated, trying to think-

A quickly becoming familiar pink head popped out of the forest. "Use those wings of yours for what you always do- running away!"

Claus opened his mouth to argue- then saw her smirk and the way she lifted her hand- he activated his wings and soared up, the chimera's head turning to watch him-

"PK Ground!" the girl yelled, slamming her hand into the earth beneath her, causing an earthquake-

The chimera stumbled, unsteady on its feet-

"PK Love Omega!" Claus landed beside the girl- the psychic attack hit the chimera in the face, knocking it backwards- a few more attacks, from both of them working together, drove it off the edge.

Claus walked to the edge and peered down. The chimera lay there, unmoving. After watching for long enough that he was sure that it wasn't going to cause any more trouble, he turned to face the girl- who was standing in a battle ready stance.

"Where's Lucas?"

Claus didn't know what to say to that- he stayed silent, trying to think. Who was this girl? What did she want with Lucas?

The girl growled and strode forward.

Claus instinctively took a step back, before remembering the cliff- he glanced behind him and realized he was only a step away from the edge. Had to remember that- it wouldn't do to accidentally fall off the cliff and make himself look foolish in front of the girl.

"Where is he, you stupid jerk?"

"…not here?" Claus offered. Lucas would probably show up soon- last Claus had seen him, he'd been following after, so he'd probably be here soon. And when Lucas got here, he could probably tell Claus about the girl, so then he could figure out what to do-

"I can see that, you- whoa!" stepping forward again, a rock had skidded out from underneath her feet- not wanting her to fall, Claus had stepped forward, reaching out to her- not wanting to fall, she'd instinctively grabbed on to him- someone had misjudged the distance and angles between them- maybe both of them had-

and their lips slammed into each other.

They stood there frozen a moment, arms still wrapped around each other-

Claus was afraid to move. What had happened? This was an accident but- it felt kinda nice too…

A rustling noise and they both broke apart and spun to face it.

And Lucas popped out of the bushes, grinning hugely.

Claus let escape a small sigh of relief, then blinked when Lucas threw his arms around him in a hug that had much in common with a tackle.

"I saw that Claus! You and Kumatora kissed!"

"What?" the girl- Kumatora apparently- shouted.

What? Claus repeated mentally, but couldn't get it out of his mouth.

Lucas let go of Claus with one arm and grabbed Kumatora and pulled her closer so she and Claus were right next to reach other- their hands touched- Claus trembled- he could feel her body heat burning through his glove. "You kissed! That means you're in love and going to get married and live happily ever after, right? Oh, Kumatora, that means you'll be my sister!"

Another rustling- the man that had been with them before came out, followed by the brown dog who sped up and darted over to them, whining happily.

"Boney!" Lucas said happily, letting go of Claus and Kumatora and hugging the dog.

Boney? Claus crouched, just to get a better look- when the dog turned his attention from Lucas to Claus and jumped at him, licking at his face nonstop.

"(Claus! I'm really glad you're okay! You went missing and no one could find you and people started saying you were dead and Flint hasn't come home because he's still looking for you-)"

"Whoa! Boney calm down!" Claus shouted, trying to get Boney to stop licking his face- in his enthusiasm he'd knocked him over.

"Wait, this guy is-" Kumatora started, she looked at Claus and then at Lucas, then back. "Oh," she said quietly- the only reason Claus heard it at all was because Boney had calmed down and was letting him sit up now.

Everyone looked serious now- serious and sad. Even Lucas.

Claus looked around from one to the other, trying to figure out why they looked like that- Lucas noticed and sat down and hugged him again.

Lucas really liked hugs- he'd given Claus a lot today. In the interest of fairness, it was only right that Claus give him one too, right? He did it rather slowly- his arms trembled just a bit- but his arms completed their path around his brother and Lucas smiled happily. Claus smiled too, just a little bit, and shut his eyes and rested his head on his twin's shoulder.

It was a wonderful thing to have a brother.

"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about the world being destroyed anymore," Kumatora commented.

World being destroyed? What were they talking about? Claus listened but didn't move.

"I'd say that's a pretty safe bet," the man agreed softly. The man- wait-

Claus opened his eyes and looked at him- the man noticed and gave him a cheerful smile, before getting to his knees so they could be at the same level.

"Hello Claus. Long time no see. Do you remember me?"

"…Mr. Duster?"

The man- Mr. Duster- smiled again, looking even happier. "You remembered my name- I'm glad."

"I'm gonna guess you didn't remember that before, huh?" Kumatora asked softly, also kneeling down so they were all at the same level. She had a different look on her face now- soft. Warm.

Claus pulled his eyes away from her face and nodded.

"So you lost your memories too?" Lucas's voice was soft and warm too, like their favorite blanket. "I knew that was it. Because you promised to come back, and you never did, even though you never break your promises. I knew that something was keeping you from coming home. I believed in you. And I still do."

"You believe in me?"

"And I always will."

Claus shut his eyes again and hugged his brother tighter.

Lucas believed in him.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Kumatora asked.

"Ah." Claus blinked and straightened up, remembering. "Master Porky ordered me to go pull the Needle. I should probably go pull it…" Claus didn't really want to get up. He liked it here- it was nice and warm and sunny, unlike the places where Master Porky sent him- the bases and New Porky City both. Besides, Lucas was here- Lucas and Boney, and Kumatora and Mr. Duster too. They'd been fighting, before, but it seemed to be because of confusion- they seemed to like him now.

Everyone else exchanged glances again.

"Claus, maybe that isn't such a good idea-" Mr. Duster started.

"B-but I've been ordered! If I don't fulfill my orders, I'll be punished!"

"Punished how?" Lucas asked, sounding worried.

"U-um…well, it's been a while, but sometimes they wouldn't give me food- sometimes I had to do extra work…"

Boney yipped sympathetically and Claus shuddered, suddenly overcome by a memory he didn't want-

"Kato."

"Huh?"

Shuddering, Claus broke away from the hug, backing up. "Stay away from me Lucas! If he finds out he'll kill you!"

"Huh?"

"I-I …it was a long time ago- I-I had a puppy. Not you, Boney. This was later. I-I-I had a puppy- I called him Kato…you would have loved him Lucas. He was all bright and warm and happy- and he was yellow. And small- so very small. Ma-master Porky didn't say anything when he saw him…so I thought it was okay. But later- weeks later- he came in with two of the colonels. He-he took Kato away… and then he asked me if I loved him. I-I just told him the truth- that I did. And then he- he told the colonels to-"

Claus shook his head, but the image of Kato lying there wouldn't leave his head- he looked up at the others. They all looked horrified.

"That jerk killed your puppy in front of you?" Kumatora demanded, looking almost sick. "Why?"

"…he said I wasn't allowed to love anyone. That if I did, he'd kill them. S-so Lucas you need to go hide. I'll go pull the Needle, and I'll follow all my orders perfectly, and Master Porky won't ever know you exist, so he won't know to look for you, so you'll be safe."

Lucas shook his head. And smiled. "I have a better idea."

Claus opened his mouth- Lucas had to get out of here, Lucas had to stay safe, Claus couldn't stand it if anything happened to Lucas- but Lucas shushed him by holding up one finger over his mouth and … was he actually smirking?

"I got the key that will get us into the Temple, so I have to go in anyway. Here's my plan- the two of us go in together and we pull the Needle together. The earthquake will let this pig-"

"Master Porky."

"Yeah him- it'll let him know that you're doing what you'd said you'd do, so he'll relax. After pulling the Needle, we should split into two groups."

"What? Why?" Claus wasn't the only who asked. Kumatora asked too. Duster was smiling though- smiling like he knew what Lucas was thinking.

"Me and Duster and Boney will go…talk with this pig guy. We need to help him understand a few things- most importantly, that the way he treats you is wrong." Lucas sounded different. He sounded strong- determined. Maybe the way Claus was feeling showed on his face, because Lucas smiled- and it was Lucas's smile all over- but the strongness and determination remained. "It'll be okay, Claus. It'll be okay."

"Lucas…"

"With everybody gone, I had to take care of myself, and I had to take care of the sheep too- so I had to get stronger. So you don't have to worry about me. We'll go find this Porky guy and get him to understand. I won't let him hurt you ever again."

Claus was supposed to protest- Master Porky was king of the islands- he took good care of everyone- but the words stuck in his throat and Kato's face stuck in his eyes- and anyway, Lucas was sweet, he wouldn't hurt anyone- so Claus just nodded.

"But if you three are going to go…talk to that-" Kumatora shut her mouth quickly, as if avoiding saying something, then started again. "What are Claus and I going to do? I hope you don't expect us to sit around and wait, because that ain't gonna happen."

Lucas chuckled. "No, I know you guys wouldn't agree to that. I was thinking about Dad."

"Dad?" repeated Claus, and Lucas turned to him and nodded.

"He's been looking for you ever since you disappeared- I'm a little worried about him. And he'll be really really happy to see you, so I was thinking that after we pull the Needle, you and Kumatora could go find him and take him home, and we'll meet you guys there after we're done with Porky."

"Oh," Claus said softly. Seeing Dad again? That sounded nice. And if Dad had gotten lost, someone should go find him. He kinda felt he should go with Lucas- but he couldn't be in two places at once, and if Dad was all by himself, he probably needed him more than Lucas did at the moment.

Claus nodded at Lucas, then turned to Kumatora. "You'll help me look for Dad?"

She turned away from Lucas (who she was giving an interesting look to) and smiled. "Yep. Lucas is a good friend of mine-" she held out one hand to Claus, "so let's be good friends too!"

Claus looked at her hand, then slowly reached out his own and took it, holding it palm up in his human hand. It was warm- not soft, but it was warm- firm.

"You're supposed to shake-" Duster grunted, and Claus turned to look at him. Lucas was standing closer to him than he had been before- he was grinning too.

Claus blinked, not understanding their reactions, then turned back to Kumatora. She was a little red- maybe she wanted her hand back.

Claus let go of it- slowly, so she knew what he was doing. She took it back, still kinda red.

"You have nice hands," Claus said, hoping that would make her feel better. Girls liked compliments, didn't they?

Coughing noises from behind him, and Claus turned to look at Lucas and Duster again. At least they were smiling again, even if Claus didn't know why.

"Okay, let's go get that Needle pulled and get this party started," Kumatora said, still red and began hurrying in the direction of the Temple. Duster and Boney followed her, and so did Lucas, and Claus followed him.

Lucas took hold of Claus's hand, and began swinging them back and forth, humming happily.

It was a familiar tune- Claus couldn't remember the words, but he knew he'd heard it before. He stayed quiet, listening, until they reached the Temple.

Lucas sprinkled water from a vial onto the vines. After a moment, the vines rustled- then began to move. Flowers sprouted, huge red ones- and then the flowers died, and the vines wilted away, leaving the entrance open.

"Oh," Kumatora remarked, "time started flowing again for the vines."

"Lucas." Duster said, turning to look at him, "let's go inside."

Lucas nodded, then glanced up at the remaining withered vines before stepping into the temple, Claus on his heels and the others following.

It was cool and dark inside the Temple, and dust stirred up from the floor where they walked.

The Needle gleamed from in front of them.

Lucas slowly came to a stop, staring at the Needle, then asked quietly "Claus, do you hear a voice when you pull the Needles?"

"…it wasn't my imagination?" Claus asked, confused, then blinked, realizing that might be confusing.

"So you did hear a voice?" Lucas asked, sounding relieved.

Claus nodded. "A quiet voice. Small- like a child's."

"Yeah, they sounded like that to me too. But they've been getting louder too, haven't they?"

"Yeah…like they're getting closer. Earlier…you said something about a dragon?"

"Yeah. The Dragon is sleeping underneath the island, and pulling the Needles is supposed to make him wake up. And whoever pulls the Needles passes their heart onto the Dragon."

"It was our Magyspy ancestors who sealed away the dark dragon," came a voice from behind them. They all jumped and turned around to face whoever this person was. "Magypsies have guarded the seven Needles for many generations since."

There was a figure walking up the steps towards them. They had pink hair, like Kumatora, but they were built more like Dad- they were also wearing a dress though, so they were probably a girl. Probably. The stranger turned around to smile at the others before noticing Claus.

"Oh, who's this darling?"

"This is Claus," Lucas said, stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. "He's my brother. We're twins."

Claus nodded, not saying anything.

"Oh I see- wait, didn't we meet before? You said you were going to go avenge your mother and I taught you a little PSI?"

Avenge Mom? It felt like a fist had gotten a hold of Claus's heart- was squeezing the life out of it-

Lucas's arms were around him again- he had gotten in front of him and was blocking his view of the person standing there-

_"Hey you guys, it's getting kinda dark."_

_"Don't worry Lucas, if anything happens I'll protect you! I'll protect Mom too!"_

_A soft laugh, and a gentle hand ruffling his hair. "That's my brave boy."_

_Beaming, filled with energy because of the remark and the affection in the gesture, he'd seized a stick and waved it in the air. "I'll be the strongest in the world!" he shouted, jumping on top of a rock to pose. And then he spotted something- something glinting in the light of the dying sun, heading towards them from the place they'd just left. "Hey Mom, what's that?"_

_Both his mom and his brother turned to look, his mom frowning slightly as she saw what he saw. "I don't-" and then she stopped as it got closer and they could see it better._

_"Oh look! It's one of the Dragos! It must've come to play with us one last time before we go home!"_

_"Claus, wait!"_

_At the sound of his mother's voice, he stopped- Lucas, who had been following him, stopping as he did._

_And the Drago landed in front, roaring at them- the air rushing at them, the loudness of the sound overwhelming them, causing them to stumble backwards, landing on their rear ends-_

_Paralyzed with fear, staring up- not a Drago, couldn't be a Drago- one blood red eye,_ _glowing in the dark and staring down at them-_

_Footsteps behind them- hands on his shoulders- Lucas gasping from beside him- both of them, falling from the bridge, staring up at their mom as the not-Drago grabbed her with its teeth, screaming for her as she smiled at them-_

Claus realized he was kneeling on the floor, hands pressed to his head- Lucas holding him still- Claus realized he was crying.

Angrily, he tried to scrub the tears away, but more kept coming.

Vaguely, he was aware of the fact that the pink haired person was asking questions- Kumatora had pulled them away and they were talking together in a corner of the room.

Boney was nosing him, whining softly, and one of Mr. Duster's hands (large and warm, almost like Dad's) was on his back.

"Claus?" Lucas's voice- worried- worried about him? Why?

Claus was a failure- too weak- couldn't protect anyone. He'd failed to protect Mom, failed to protect Kato- and Lucas-

Claus looked up- darted his eyes towards Lucas.

Lucas was staring at him- wide blue eyes filled with worry. "Claus, are you okay?"

Claus didn't say anything, just kept staring.

Lucas looked even more worried- he hesitated- "Claus…are you thinking about Mom?"

"Mom?" it escaped- a pathetic, child-like sounding whimper- it took Claus a moment to realize the sound came from his own throat.

Lucas hugged him tighter. "I know. I miss her too. I wish she was still here with us."

Claus clutched at Lucas like a drowning man to a lifeline- afraid that he'd disappear the way Mom had disappeared.

Footsteps- Claus didn't turn away from Lucas or look up at the other person at all.

"Lucas…" not Mr. Duster or Kumatora- must the voice of the strange pink-haired person.

Lucas stayed silent a moment, then "You know, every time I pulled a Needle, or even got near one, I made a wish."

 _Like blowing out a candle on a cake?_ Claus wondered but still said nothing.

"It's a wish I've been making for the last three years. And now, it's finally come true."

"What was the wish?" the stranger asked, voice even softer now.

Lucas smiled. "I finally got my brother back."

Claus shifted- looking up at his brother's smiling face. "Me?"

"Yes, you. I missed Mom, and I still do, but I knew you were out there, alone and lost- somewhere in the world- I wanted to find you, but I never could. I'm really glad we're together again."

"Yeah…yeah, me too," he said it- it came out quietly, but it came out, and it made Lucas smile.

"Do you feel better now?" the pink-haired stranger asked. Lucas didn't respond, not even looking at them, just holding Claus still, and the stranger pressed on. "Because the little piggies will probably head back this way with reinforcements soon. The time to pull the Needle is now, Lucas."

Lucas turned to look at him at that, and after a moment of silence, Claus looked up too. He couldn't see his brother's face, because he was staring at the pink haired person, but the expression on their face wasn't happy- they looked almost uncomfortable.

After a moment, Lucas turned away from them with a sigh and looked back at Claus. "Ionia's right Claus. We should probably pull the Needle and get going." Lucas didn't look happy. He looked worried- worried about Claus still? "Are you ready? If you're not, we can wait a bit longer."

"…I can do it."

"Are you sure?"

"…yeah." It hurt. It hurt a lot.

Mom was gone.

But Claus didn't want to cry- not with people watching. And Lucas- Lucas was worrying about him. Claus didn't want Lucas to worry about him.

And when they went home- that was where Mom's grave was, right? When they went home, they could go there- and Claus could tell her sorry- apologize because even though she called him her brave boy, he couldn't save her.

Lucas still looking at him, still worried.

"The sooner we do it…the sooner we can go home, right?"

Lucas looked a little surprised, then smiled, a little sadly. "Yep. Okay, if you're ready, let's pull that needle."

Claus nodded.

The pink haired stranger- Ionia -opened their mouth, but shut it again when Lucas looked at them.

"I've known Claus since he was a baby," Mr. Duster said, smiling reassuring at Ionia. "He's always been a kind kid. Sometimes a bit over-enthusiastic, but he's a good person."

"He did help us out with that stupid Ultimate Chimera," Kumatora said, walking up to Ionia. The two of them looked at each other.

"He heard the voice of the Dragon Ionia," Lucas said quietly.

Ionia turned and gave him a weird look. "The voice of the Dragon?"

"Every time one of us pulled one of the Needles, we heard a voice- a faint, childlike voice. A lonely sounding voice-" Lucas trailed off. He probably felt sad for the Dragon- Lucas was like that. Claus felt bad for them too- struck by a thought, he touched Lucas's arm, and his brother turned to look at him.

"When all the needles are pulled, the Dragon will wake up?"

Lucas nodded.

"…then- when they're awake, they'll come here?"

"And they won't be lonely anymore," Lucas said, hope growing on his face. He turned to look at Ionia. "The Dragon will come here when they wake up, right?"

Ionia was surprised, staring at them- before looking thoughtful. "To be honest, I don't know darlings. This voice of the Dragon you two seem to have heard- I've never heard of such a thing. As for when the Dragon wakes up-I only know that something big will happen…something big enough to recreate the entire world." Ionia looked at Lucas, then at Claus, then back at Lucas. "Kumatora tells me that you two have been separated- and that you lost your memory, Claus, and became confused- that everything before was because you were confused and didn't know what was going on. She also said that you've remembered everything now and now there's nothing to worry about- is that so?" for a silly looking person, they had an awfully intense stare.

"…I-I don't know. I mean- my memories -they're all jumbled. But- I remember that things- they used to be different. Lucas is my brother. Lucas has always been my brother. Lucas and I have a mom and a dad, and Boney is our dog. Mr. Duster- he was there too. I don't know how we got separated- but Mom…Mom-"

"Our mom died," Lucas said softly, finishing it for him. "Claus left to try to get revenge for her…and he disappeared. You disappeared." He turned from Ionia to stare at his brother. "Everyone looked for you at first- searched everywhere. But after a month, people started saying that you had to be dead…and some people stopped looking…eventually, everyone but Dad stopped looking, because there was nowhere else to look. Those stupid jerk Pigmasks- they must've found you before Dad and everyone could. I don't know what they did to you while they kept us apart- but it doesn't matter, okay? We're gonna fix it- we're going to find a way to fix everything. We're stronger when we're together. Mom always used to tell us that, remember?"

He could. Vaguely, but he could. Her face was in shadow, but he could see her smiling, see her leaning over them, talking like Lucas, softly- _"Don't forget- you're strongest when you work together."_

Claus nodded.

Lucas smiled and turned to look at the others, "We're going to pull the Needle now."

Mr. Duster nodded encouragingly. Boney barked, smiling. Kumatora gave them both a playful shove towards the needle.

Ionia gave a soft sigh, then smiled at them. "Thanks for the pickles earlier. The dog drool was a bit disconcerting though." Ionia giggled quietly, then turned serious and looked back and forth between the twins. "Remember, the Dragon inherits what's in your heart, so think about the ones you love as you pull it, alright?"

Lucas nodded, smiling slightly while Claus nodded slightly more somberly- the Dragon was trapped, in a bad place- Claus wanted to make sure he sent good things to them, so the Dragon would understand that while the world could be scary, it wasn't a bad place.

The two of them turned, facing the Needle again and started forward.

Lucas wrapped his hands around the Needle, and Claus followed suit, placing his hands slightly above Lucas's. They met each other's eyes, briefly, over the glowing Needle- Lucas giving him a smile, Claus slowly smiling back- and they pulled the Needle.

Again, these feelings- the earth shaking beneath his feet- a voice, calling to him from far away- a heartbeat, echoing their hearts as it beat- the geyser of red steam rushed up between them, causing them both to back up-

Slowly, the shaking stopped, and the world went back to normal. The voice remained a little longer- reaching for them plaintively- in his mind Claus felt Lucas reach for them- for the Dragon- and Claus reached too.

_"Don't worry, we'll come for you soon."_

"As I start to disappear, my heart senses an intense disturbance," Ionia said, and everyone turned to look- they were flickering, beginning to disappear. "Locria, the final, missing Magypsy, is rapidly nearing the seventh Needle! That's what I'm sensing. It's coming from…that direction." And as they pointed, they disappeared completely. "From a lively, filthy place…" they reappeared, but kept fading in and out. "Oh! Just when I'm about to tell where it is! Aaah!" they sounded frustrated.

Lucas was moving, from where he was standing to where Ionia was, Claus making sure to follow close behind.

"I'm sorry. I'm disappearing now," Ionia said, looking down at them. "Before I go, here are final mementos of me. A razor and lipstick." Ionia smiled and winked at them. "Remember me sometimes, okay?"

Lucas nodded silently, as he took them and carefully placed them into his brother's hands. Claus didn't know what he was supposed to do with them, but he carefully put them away.

Ionia stepped back and looked around. "It's too bad I didn't get to see how everything turns out, but…Lucas, honey. Claus sweetie. Little Boney. Adorable Duster. And Princess Kumatora." Every time a name had been mentioned, Ionia had turned and given a big smile to them, with all the boys flushing- Claus was not sweet, he was strong!- but at Kumatora's name, Ionia sounded…proud. "Whatever happens, make sure you get to see what the final fate of the world is." Ionia turned and smiled at them all one last time- struck a pose, arms in the air- and turned into a glowing ball of light, which spread out and melted into the air. "Oh! Locria is nearing the seventh Needle." Ionia's voice echoed across the room, then died out.

Kumatora took a couple steps forward towards where Ionia had been standing, then stopped, looking sad.

Claus remembered Mom- remembered how she'd smiled at him- it hurt when he thought of her- he wished she was still here. Was that how Kumatora was feeling right now?

Claus reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at him, surprised. Oh- there were a couple tears in her eyes. She was hurting.

Then music came from outside. They all turned to stare.

"I recognize that music," Claus said. "It's from the limo…Master Porky must have sent it here."

"I'll go talk-" Lucas stepped forward, but Claus grabbed him.

"No!"

"Don't worry." Lucas smiled at him- the same smile as before. Gentle, and firm. "I'll be careful. And I won't be alone, remember?"

"(That's right!)" barked Boney.

Duster placed his hands on Claus's shoulders. "Trust us."

Claus looked from one to the other, from Boney to Duster, from Kumatora (who wasn't looking that happy, but wasn't looking worried either) to Lucas- who was still smiling.

"You're sure?"

Lucas nodded cheerfully, and hugged him. "We'll be fine. So you two be careful too, alright?"

"We will," Claus promised, and hugged him back.

"Hello? Master Lucas?" called the chauffer's voice from outside. "You are here, aren't you?"

"They know my name?"

"Uh…might be my fault," Claus admitted softly. "I think I used to call out for you. Actually, maybe I still do…the colonel said before that I was talking in my sleep…"

"Oh," Lucas said, then smiled. "Well, I'm leaving now. I'll be back as soon as I can. And when we all get home, I'll cook us some omelets."

"Omelets?"

"Yeah, I learned to cook while you were gone. My omelets aren't as good as Mom's yet, but they're really good."

"Oh…sounds good. Can you teach me?"

"Sure Claus!"

"Hello?" called the chauffeur again.

"See you two later," Duster said with a smile, before ducking outside.

Boney licked them both before following Duster.

Lucas hugged them both- Kumatora first and then Claus- Claus could tell from the way he was hugging him he didn't want to leave- Claus didn't want him to leave either- but Dad needed him, so he needed to go- and Lucas needed to go to explain things to Porky.

The two brothers hugged once more and then stepped back.

"See you at home," Lucas said.

"See you at home," Claus repeated, and Lucas smiled at him once more before turning and heading outside.

Claus waited until he heard the sound of the limo taking off, then turned to Kumatora and held out his arms.

She gave him a look. "What, do you want a hug from me too?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean- my wings. We should use them. For the search. We'll get a better view from the air."

"Oh, that's true," Kumatora said, looking impressed. "It'll also make us easier to spot though."

"We can also stop and duck down into the forest to avoid detection," Claus pointed out.

"Also true. I guess we got ourselves a plan then…but do you have to carry me like that?"

"I don't want to set you on fire with the jets."

"Yeah, that'd ruin my day," Kumatora sighed, and stepped somewhat closer, looking somewhat reluctantly at his open arms.

"…I won't drop you. I promise."

She looked up and met his eyes, smiling wryly. "Good to know. And that's not what I was thinking anyway- it's just kinda awkward."

Before Claus could ask what she meant, she wrapped her arms around his neck- in turn, he gently picked her up, one arm around her upper torso, the other around her knees.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ready?"

Without saying anything, Claus stepped forward- leaving the dark of the temple and stepping into the sunlight. Closing his eyes, just for a moment, against the bright sunlight, he tilted his face up- feeling the warm sunshine caress his face. Smiling slightly, he opened his eyes.

"The sky…it's so blue."

"Yeah…" Kumatora agreed softly, "It's really something isn't it? Now come on-" and here her voice got louder again. "Let's go find your dad!"

"Right." And Claus spread his wings and soared into the wide open blue sky.

OoOoOo

"You know they're not going to just give up, right?" Duster asked conversationally as he examined yet another game that didn't actually do anything.

For a moment, Lucas was silent. "I know. That's why we'll make it so there's no "just". We'll show them that they don't have a choice."

"And what if they don't want to give him up even then?"

Lucas turned and looked at him- their eyes met.

After a moment, Duster groaned softly. "Kids shouldn't have eyes like that."

"Sorry."

"No, Lucas, it's not an insult- I'm saying that kids shouldn't have to go through the things that you have. Honestly, I think you're dealing with everything as well as could be expected. I'm sure your mom is proud of you."

"…why?" Lucas somewhat bewilderedly. "If I'd been faster, maybe Mom wouldn't have died- if I'd gone with Claus, he wouldn't have gotten captured- ow!"

Duster lowered his hand and sighed. "No one knows the future Lucas. Quit blaming yourself for the things you can't change."

"…I know. I'm working on it," Lucas smiled wryly- and then smiled more honestly. "At least Claus is back."

"That's the other thing I need to talk to you about. You realize he isn't going to be completely well for a long time- maybe never?"

"I don't care," Lucas said, still smiling. "He's alive." the last word was said with such wonder, such joy-

Duster shook his head with a smile and sat down.

"If he's sick, I'll take care of him," Lucas continued. "That's the way it's always been- if one of us is sick, the healthy one looks after them. If one of us is hurt, the uninjured one protects them. Why would that change now?"

"Just wanted to let you know what you were in for," Duster said, leaning back.

Lucas sat down next to him. "I'm not scared. Not anymore."

Duster opened one eye and looked at him, then smiled. "I guess not."

Boney came back from investigating the rest of the limo. "(Smells funny here.)"

"I'm not surprised," Lucas said with a smile. "Don't worry Boney, it'll all be over soon and then we can all go home." He reached out and petted his dog reassuringly, before looking out the window and smiling at the endless blue sky.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the thought of Lucas being sneaky and ever so slightly evil to protect Claus.
> 
> And if you don't like the thought of ClausXKumatora, remember- they've just met. Even Lucas doesn't think they're madly in love, but he is rather hoping to change that. ^^ So if you want to think that they eventually grow up and get married, go ahead (that's kinda the way I'm leaning). If you don't, that's okay too- they're slightly attracted to each other but they'll grow out of it. It's meant to work either way.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the read. ^_^


End file.
